World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival
Encyclopedia
The World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival of 1872 took place in the Back Bay area of Boston
, Massachusetts
. Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore
directed the festival, which lasted some 18 days. The jubilee honored the ending of the Franco-Prussian War
.
At opening ceremonies on June 17, 1872, before some 15,000 spectators, Phillips Brooks
presented a prayer and Boston mayor William Gaston
and Nathaniel Prentice Banks
gave speeches. "Unfortunately the size of the building and the din of the workmen caused passages of the prayer and speeches to be inaudible."
Many musicians performed at the jubilee. During the festival "the bands of the Grenadier guards
, from London, of the Garde republicaine, from Paris, of the Kaiser Franz regiment, from Berlin, and a band from Dublin, Ireland: with Johann Strauss
, the waltz-king, Franz Abt, the German song-writer, and many famous soloists, vocal and instrumental, were among the foreign attractions." One concert featured a "performance of Verdi's Il Trovatore
by a 2,000-member orchestra, conducted by Johann Strauss, Jr., and 100 assistants, accompanied by a 20,000-voice chorus." The members of the chorus came "from all parts of the Union," and were directed by Carl Zerrahn
.A new piece, titled Festival Hymn: Peace and Music, was composed for this Jubilee by American composer, Dudley Buck.
The Fisk University Jubilee Singers
also gave a concert, the first time African American "singers [were] included in a big musical production" in the country. Johann Strauss performed on violin: "All eyes were riveted upon the expressive face and the almost eloquent arm of Herr Strauss. Every ear was strained to catch a sound from the violin on which he ever and anon laid the bow with a passion and surety unexcelled. A storm of applause marked the conclusion of the waltz, which was at once re-demanded and heard anew." Other performers included pianist Franz Bendel
; vocalist Madame Rudersdorff; the United States Marine Band
; Arabella Goddard
; and Madame Peschka-Leutner.
The jubilee provided au courant "Press and Telegraph
Rooms ...furnished with all desirable accommodations for the members of the press, while the telegraphic facilities are ample for communicating with all parts of the world."
Despite enthusiastic audiences, the festival suffered financially, partly from lower-than-expected attendance, and partly from setbacks during construction of the building. Some attendees responded negatively to the experience overall: "The great, usurping, tyrannizing, noisy and pretentious thing is over, and there is a general feeling of relief, as if a heavy, brooding nightmare had been lifted from us all." However, the enormousness of the 1872 international jubilee in terms of audience, publicity, and programming created a precedent which served to inspire similar festivals in later years.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore
Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was an Irish-born composer and bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. Whilst serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Gilmore wrote the lyrics to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", the tune he took from an old Irish antiwar folk...
directed the festival, which lasted some 18 days. The jubilee honored the ending of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
.
Brief history
For this well-publicized, high-profile, widely anticipated event, architect William G. Preston designed the "colosseum, with a seating capacity of 100,000, ...erected at a cost of half a million dollars." J.H. Wilcox & Co. designed the 43-foot high pipe organ.At opening ceremonies on June 17, 1872, before some 15,000 spectators, Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks was an American clergyman and author, who briefly served as Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church during the early 1890s. In the Episcopal liturgical calendar he is remembered on January 23...
presented a prayer and Boston mayor William Gaston
William Gaston (Massachusetts)
William Gaston was the 29th Governor of Massachusetts in 1875-1876.William Gaston had established a successful legal practice in the City of Roxbury, Massachusetts before entering politics. He served as a Representative in the State Legislature , as Roxbury's City Solicitor , and as its Mayor...
and Nathaniel Prentice Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks was an American politician and soldier, served as the 24th Governor of Massachusetts, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a Union general during the American Civil War....
gave speeches. "Unfortunately the size of the building and the din of the workmen caused passages of the prayer and speeches to be inaudible."
Many musicians performed at the jubilee. During the festival "the bands of the Grenadier guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
, from London, of the Garde republicaine, from Paris, of the Kaiser Franz regiment, from Berlin, and a band from Dublin, Ireland: with Johann Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
, the waltz-king, Franz Abt, the German song-writer, and many famous soloists, vocal and instrumental, were among the foreign attractions." One concert featured a "performance of Verdi's Il Trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
by a 2,000-member orchestra, conducted by Johann Strauss, Jr., and 100 assistants, accompanied by a 20,000-voice chorus." The members of the chorus came "from all parts of the Union," and were directed by Carl Zerrahn
Carl Zerrahn
Carl Zerrahn was a German-born American flautist and conductor. His widespread activity in the region made him an influential figure in New England and Boston classical music, especially choral music, in the latter half of the 19th century...
.A new piece, titled Festival Hymn: Peace and Music, was composed for this Jubilee by American composer, Dudley Buck.
The Fisk University Jubilee Singers
Fisk Jubilee Singers
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for their college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditional spirituals, but included some Stephen Foster songs...
also gave a concert, the first time African American "singers [were] included in a big musical production" in the country. Johann Strauss performed on violin: "All eyes were riveted upon the expressive face and the almost eloquent arm of Herr Strauss. Every ear was strained to catch a sound from the violin on which he ever and anon laid the bow with a passion and surety unexcelled. A storm of applause marked the conclusion of the waltz, which was at once re-demanded and heard anew." Other performers included pianist Franz Bendel
Franz Bendel
Franz Bendel was a Bohemian German pianist and composer. He was a student of Franz Liszt for five years in Weimar. Bendel was a superb pianist who toured extensively until his death from typhoid fever in Boston while on an American tour...
; vocalist Madame Rudersdorff; the United States Marine Band
United States Marine Band
The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands and the oldest professional musical organization in the United States...
; Arabella Goddard
Arabella Goddard
Arabella Goddard was an English pianist of great renown in the middle to late 19th century.She was born and died in France. Her parents, Thomas Goddard, an heir to a Salisbury cutlery firm, and Arabella née Ingles, were part of an English community of expatriates living in Saint-Servan near...
; and Madame Peschka-Leutner.
The jubilee provided au courant "Press and Telegraph
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
Rooms ...furnished with all desirable accommodations for the members of the press, while the telegraphic facilities are ample for communicating with all parts of the world."
Despite enthusiastic audiences, the festival suffered financially, partly from lower-than-expected attendance, and partly from setbacks during construction of the building. Some attendees responded negatively to the experience overall: "The great, usurping, tyrannizing, noisy and pretentious thing is over, and there is a general feeling of relief, as if a heavy, brooding nightmare had been lifted from us all." However, the enormousness of the 1872 international jubilee in terms of audience, publicity, and programming created a precedent which served to inspire similar festivals in later years.
Music associated with the festival
- Franz Abt. Hymn of Peace. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co., 1872.
- Dudley Buck. Festival Hymn. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co., 1872.
- Alberto Randegger. 150th Psalm. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co., 1872.
- Johann Strauss. Jubilee Waltz. Springfield, Mass.: Fay Hoadly, 1872.
- Julius BenedictJulius BenedictSir Julius Benedict was a German-born composer and conductor, resident in England for most of his career.-Life:...
. Our victorious banner. Boston: Ditson & Co., ca.1872. - Alfred E Warren. Inman Line march. Boston: Louis P. GoullaudLouis P. GoullaudLouis P. Goullaud published and sold music in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 19th century. In the 1860s he worked for "Koppitz, Pruefer & Co." With Asa W. White and Edward W. White -- as the firm "White & Goullaud" -- he sold musical instruments and published sheet music...
, 1872. - Music to be performed at the World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival: in Boston, June, 1872. Boston: O. DitsonOliver DitsonOliver Ditson was an American businessman and founder of Oliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century. Ditson began his business with Samuel H...
, 1872. - Supplement, containing music written expressly for (but not received in time to be performed at the) World's Peace Jubilee. Boston: Oliver Ditson & Co., 1872.
Further reading
- Local intelligence: the Peace Jubilee. Boston Daily Globe, Mar 4, 1872. p.8.
- World's Peace Jubilee. Boston Daily Globe. Apr 22, 1872. p.4.
- The Jubilee coliseum down; Fall of the Towers and Trusses During a Fresh Breeze No One Injured. New York Times, Apr 27, 1872. p.1.
- Boston's disappointment; The Fall of the Jubilee Coliseum The Plan to be Changed (From the Boston Advertiser, April 27). New York Times, Apr 29, 1872. p.8.
- Jubilee Days. Illustrated by Augustus HoppinAugustus HoppinAugustus Hoppin was an American book illustrator, born in Providence, R. I.. He graduated at Brown University in 1848 and was admitted to the bar, but soon gave up the law and went abroad to study art. Upon his return he devoted himself to drawing on wood and to the illustration of books, in...
. Boston: James R. OsgoodJames R. OsgoodJames R. Osgood was an American publisher probably best known for his partnership with Mark Twain and his involvement with the publishing company that would become Houghton Mifflin.-Life and work:...
, 1872. - The Jubilee; Yesterday's Performance at the Coliseum--The English Band the Lions of the Occasion. New York Times, Jun 22, 1872. p.5
- The Jubilee in Boston A Dull Day and a Small Audience. New York Times, Jun 25, 1872. p.1.
- The Jubilee; Largest Attendance Since the Opening Cordial Reception of the President by the Audience The Performance. New York Times, Jun 26, 1872. p.5.
- The Musical World, v.50. August 17, 1872.
External links
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/24029425@N06/2351565016
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/2351565344
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/2351565584
- World's Peace Jubilee Music